Where tradition meets change: Japan's agricultural politics in transition

Journal of Japanese Studies

Volumn 31, Issue 2, 2005, Pages 261-298

  Mulgan, Aurelia George ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES   (Australia)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 33745861019     PISSN: 00956848     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1353/jjs.2005.0053     Document Type: Review

References (148)

1. See Nishida Jitsuji, "Kōzō kaikaku wa doko made susunde iru no? " Shūkan tōȳ keizai, May 25, 2002, pp. 86-87;
2. Eda Kenji and Nishino Tomohiko, Kaikaku seiken ga taoreru toki (Tokyo: Nikkei BPsha, 2002);
3. and Aurelia George Mulgan, Japan's Failed Revolution: Koizumi and the Politics of Economic Reform (Canberra: Asia Pacific Press, 2002).
4. Shiota Ushio, "Tōyūi no seisaku ketteiken, naikaku e no dakkai o gasaku," Shūkan tōyō keizai, August 2, 2003, p. 136.
5. Koizumi seeks to eliminate what he sees as the predominance of the party over the prime minister in policymaking by undermining the personnel affairs system of the factions and by tackling the structure of zoku gun (policy cliques) in the party. His ultimate objective is to construct a prime-minister-predominant system by unifying policy decision making between the LDP and the cabinet, and centralizing this process in the cabinet. Shiota, "Tōyūi no seisoku ketteiken," pp. 136-37.
6. See Aurelia George Mulgan, Japan's Interventionist State: The Hole of the MAFF (London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2005).
7. Kawakita Takao and Onoue Yukio, Nōrinsuisanshō (Tokyo: Intāmedeia, 2001), p. 121.
8. The tripartite policymaking system for agriculture is examined in Aurelia George Mulgan, '"Japan Inc.' in the Agricultural Sector: Reform or Regression," Pacific Economic Papers, No. 314 (April 2001), pp. 2-4, 67.
9. Masayoshi Honma, "Political Economy and Agricultural Policy Reform in Japan," paper presented to the workshop on "Some Key Issues for the East Asian Food Sector," Australian National University, May 2, 2000, p. 1.
10. See Aurelia George Mulgan, "The Role of Foreign Pressure (Gaiatsu) in Japan's Agricultural Trade Liberalization," The Pacific Review, Vol. 10, No. 2 (1997), pp. 165-209;
11. Aurelia George Mulgan, "The Politics of Public Spending in the Japanese Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Sector." in Takekazu Ogura, ed., Japanese Agricultural Policy Reconsidered (Tokyo: Food and Agriculture Policy Research Center, 1993), pp. 165-218;
12. and Aurelia George Mulgan, "The Politics of Deregulation and Japanese Agriculture," in
13. T. J. Pempel, Tony Warren, Aurelia George Mulgan, S. Hayden Lesbirel, Purnendra Jain, and Keiko Tabusa, "The Politics of Economic Reform in Japan," Pacific Economic Papers, No. 270 (August 1997). pp. 3.1-3.38.
14. In 2002, the Public Office Election Law (Kōshoku Senkyohō) was amended to allow redistricting of seats in the Lower House. The changes account for the drop in vote disparity in 2002 (see Table 2).
15. The balance of seats was elected by a proportional representation (PR) system. Beginning with 200 seats, the number was later reduced to 180.
16. See Nishihira Shigeki, "Shōsenkyoku bunrui kijun no teian," Chūō chōsahō, No. 449 (1995), p. 4099.
17. For a more general evaluation of this phenomenon, see Ellis S. Krauss and Robert Pekkanen, "Explaining Party Adaptation to Electoral Reform: The Discreet Charm of the LDP?" Journal of Japanese Studies, Vol. 30, No. 1 (Winter 2004), pp. 1-34.
18. For a more detailed elaboration of the impact of electoral reform on the farm sector, see George Mulgan, '"Japan Inc.' in the Agricultural Sector," pp. 10-14;
19. and Aurelia George Mulgan, "Electoral Determinants of Agrarian Power: Measuring Rural Decline in Japan," Political Studies, Vol. 45, No. 5 (December 1997), pp. 875-913.
20. Personal interview with Upper House Diet member Hinode Eisuke, Tokyo, January 2000.
21. "Anzen na shokuryō kyōkyū to kenzen na nōgyō nōson no hatten ni mukete," Nōsei undō jānaru. No. 50 (August 2003), p. 8.
22. Nakamura Yasuhiko, Nōrin zoku (Tokyo: Bundan Shinsho, 2001), p. 135.
23. Ayukawa Saiji, "Jimintō de mo shinkō suru 'Matsuuka Toshikatsu hazushi,'" Fuōsaito, May 2002, p. 20.
24. See George Mulgan, '"Japan Inc.' in the Agricultural Sector," p. 14.
25. For a more general analysis of this trend, see Krauss and Pekkanen, "Explaining Party Adaptation to Electoral Reform," pp. 17-23.
26. '"Nōrin giin' mo kōkeisha fusoku?" Nōsei undo jānaru, No. 30 (April 2000). p. 1.
27. Nihon nōgyō shinbun, May 11. 1998.
28. "Hyōryo suru nōsonhyō." Nōsei undo jānaru, No. 56 (August 2004). p. 1.
29. Voters were given the option of voting for either an individual candidate or a party.
30. Asahi shinbun, July 12, 2004.
31. A nōrin zoku quoted in Asahi shinbun, March 31, 2004.
32. Asahi shinbun, March 31, 2004.
33. Asahi shinbun, Ibid.
34. Hidetaka Yoshimatsu and Christopher Pokarier, "Reactive Japanese Trade Politics in a Changed World," paper presented to the workshop on "Japan's Future in East Asia and the Pacific," Asia Pacific School of Economics and Government, Australian National University, August 19, 2004, p. 10.
35. The formal agreement was signed in September 2004. Quoted from Asahi shinbun, March 31,2004.
36. Nihon keizai shinbun, March 11, 2004.
37. Nikkei Weekly, November 3, 2003.
38. Nikkei Weekly, Ibid.
39. "Sōsaisen, sōsenkyo, tsugi no riidā...," Nōsei undō jānaru, No. 50 (August 2003), p. 1.
40. "Anzen na shokuryō," p. 9.
41. Tokyo shinbun, November 10, 2003.
42. http://www.city.yokohama.jp/me/senkan/jimu/unei_hl6-03.html (accessed April 2, 2005).
43. "Kongo no nōsei no ugoki," Nōsei undō jānaru, No. 59 (February 2005), p. 30.
44. "'Sōsenkyo, Jimin-Mori ha wa zensen': nōgyōken de medatsu tōhyōritsu teika, hoshu kiban ni chikaku hendō," Nōsei undō jānaru, No. 52 (December 2003), p. 1.
45. This was the difference in voting percentage in towns and villages in the PR constituency of the Upper House between the LDP (37 per cent) and the DPJ (35 per cent). Asahi shinbun, July 12, 2004.
46. "Hyōryū suru nōsonhyō," p. 1.
47. Yomiuri shinbun, November 7, 2003.
48. Tokyo shinbun, November 19, 2003.
49. Nikkei Weekly, December 8, 2003.
50. In the November 2003 elections, New Kōmeitō supported 198 out of 277 LDP candidates in single-seat districts. Of the 168 successful single-seat candidates, nearly 80 per cent, or 133, received the backing of the LDP's coalition partner. Nikkei Weekly, November 24, 2003.
51. Yomiuri shinbun, November 7, 2003.
52. Tokyo shinbun, November 19, 2003.
53. Nikkei Weekly, November 24, 2003.
54. Nikkei Weekly, Ibid.
55. Seikan yōran (Tokyo: Jihōsha, Spring Edition, 2003), p. 75.
56. Nakamura, Nōrin zoku, p. 62. The changes to the executive apparatus were made as part of the restructuring of the administrative organs of government in January 2001.
57. Nikkei Weekly, September 30, 2002.
58. Nikkei Weekly, September 29, 2003.
59. Nihon keizai shinbun, February 28, 2005.
60. See Maurice Wright, Japan's Fiscal Crisis: The Ministry of Finance and the Politics of Public Spending, 1975-2000 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002).
61. The Japan Times, July 20, 2002, http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ getarticle.pl5? nn20020720al.htm.
62. These posts were created in January 2001 at the time of the reorganization of central government ministries.
63. Yomiuri shinbun, September 15, 2004. In the September 2004 cabinet reshuffle, Abe was demoted to deputy secretary-general.
64. "Speeches and Statements by Prime Minister: Intensive Discussion on the Reform of Systems and Policies-Prime Minister's Instruction," http://www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/ koizumispeech/2002/07/19siji_e.html.
65. The Daily Yomiuri, August 13, 2004.
66. The Food, Agriculture, and Rural Areas Basic Law passed in July 1999 performed the same function for the new round of multilateral WTO negotiations which began in 2000. The end of this round is now in sight, with an agreement to complete a final trade pact on agriculture in 2005.
67. "Kantei shudō no FTA suishin ni hanpatsu shi kessoku mo, kyūshin ryoku kadai," Nōsei undō jānaru, No. 53 (February 2004), p. 1.
68. Itō Takatoshi, "Japan's Approach to Free Trade Agreements," seminar paper delivered to the Asia Pacific School of Economics and Government, Australian National University, November 7, 2003.
69. Nihon keizai shinbun, November 29, 2003.
70. Nihin keizai shinbun, November 7 and 29, 2003.
71. Nihon keizai shinbun, December 21, 2004.
72. Niklsei Weekly, December 27, 2004, and January 3, 2005.
73. This is notwithstanding the fact that the nōrin kanbu refer to leadership of the Prime Minister's Official Residence on FTA issues as gaiatsu. "Kantei shudō no FTA suishin," p. 1.
74. The exception to this is U.S. gaiatsu on Japan to reopen its beef market to U.S. imports following the December 2003 ban imposed after BSE was found in American cattle.
75. Nikkei Weekly, January 20, 2003.
76. Nikkei Weekly, Ibid.
77. Asahi.com, http://asahi.com/english/business/K2001111500581.html (accessed April 9, 2004).
78. University of Tokyo economist Itō Motoshige comments that: "Whenever Japan tried to conclude an EPA . . . agricultural issues in particular, were always a serious political obstacle to negotiations for trade liberalization." Motoshige Itoh, "Japan Needs FTAs." in Japan Today, http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=comment&id = 580&page=5.
79. Nihon keizai shinbun, November 12, 2004.
80. In 2003. METI calculated that the lack of FTAs meant that domestic industry lost ¥400 billion ($3.7 billion) in missed profit opportunities and 32,000 jobs. Nikkei Weekly, December 15, 2003.
81. Itō, "Japan's Approach to Free Trade Agreements." In late 2004, the Cabinet Office and Social Research Institute published projections of the effect on Japan's real GDP of concluding FTAs with particular countries. The estimate showed that an FTA with China wouldpush up Japan's GDP by 0.5 per cent, the largest figure among the 18 countries surveyed. On the other hand, an FTA with the United States and Australia would push down the output of primary industries by 3.8 per cent and 1.7 per cent, respectively. Nihon keizai shinbun, December 31, 2004.
82. The author is grateful to Honma Masayoshi and John Ravenhill on this point.
83. Yoshimatsu and Pokarier, "Reactive Japanese Trade Politics," p. 4;
84. Mireya Solis, "Japan's New Regionalism: The Politics of Free Trade Talks with Mexico," Journal of East Asian Studies, Vol 3, No. 3 (September-December 2003), p. 377.
85. As Munakata points out, "The November 2001 agreement between China and ASEAN to negotiate a free trade agreement (FTA) sent a shock wave throughout Japan." Naoko Munakata, "Seize the Moment for East Asian Economic Integration," Center for Strategic and International Studies, PacNet Newsletter, February 1, 2002. http://www.brook.edu/ dybdocroot/views/op-ed/ naoko/20020201.htm.
86. In September 2004, Japan and ASEAN agreed to conclude negotiations on an EPA in March 2007.
87. Nihon keizai shinbun, November 19, 2003.
88. Nikkei Weekly, December 27, 2004-January 3, 2005.
89. Asahi shinbun, October 10, 2004.
90. Naoko Munakata, "How Trade Agreements Can Reform Japan," The Globalist, July 10, 2002, http://www.theglobalist.com/DBWeb/StoryId.aspx7StoryID = 2560.
91. Nikkei Weekly, December 15, 2003,
92. and "Japan's Policy of Seeking Free Trade Agreements Founders on Question of Agricultural Products," Foreign Press Center/Japan, October 23, 2003, http://www.fpcj.Jp/e/shiryo/jb/0350.html.
93. Itoh, "Japan Needs FTAs." The council was established in March 2004 and consists mainly of business leaders and academics.
94. http://www.kantei.go.jp/jp/koizumiphoto/2004/03/30renkei.html.
95. Nikkei Weekly, November 24, 2003.
96. Munakata, "How Trade Agreements Can Reform Japan."
97. http://www.kantei.goop/jp/singi/keizai/tousin/030626f.html.
98. The "trinity" reforms called for a ¥ trillion ($37.4 billion) cut in national subsidies lo local governments, a review of tax allocations from the central government to municipalities (including a review of allocating taxes to all municipalities on an equal basis), and the ceding of some tax collection authority (i.e.. over income, consumption, corporate, liquor, petroleum, and tobacco taxes) to municipalities.
99. In November 2000, the Agricultural Land Law was amended to allow ordinary joint stock companies to invest up to 25 per cent of share holding of incorporated group firms, but the purchase of farmland by such companies remained prohibited.
100. http://www.kantei.go.Jp/jp/singi/keizai/tousin/030626f.html.
101. Nikkei Weekly, September 29. 2003.
102. Nōrin zoku, p. 190.
103. The construction candidate gained 253, 738 votes compared with 278, 521 votes in 2001, while the land improvement candidate gained only 167,350 votes compared with 207,867 votes in 2001. Asahi shinbun, July 12, 2004.
104. Nikkei Weekly, September 29, 2003.
105. Nōrinsuisanshō, Tōkei Jōhōbu, Dai-78 Nōrinsuisanshō tōkeihyō, 2001-2002 (Tokyo: Nōrin Tōkei Kyōkai, 2003), p. 14.
106. "Kongo no nōsei o kataru," Nōsei undō jānaru, No. 37 (June 2001), p. 8.
107. Disparity in the value of votes in elections for the House of Councillors has emerged us a political issue. On January 14, 2004, the Japanese Supreme Court handed down its decision with regard to a lawsuit contending that the disparity between the numbers of voters per seat in different electoral districts in the 2001 election for the House of Councillors was unconstitutional. The most-populated district (Tokyo prefectural constituency) had 5.06 times more voters per seat than the least-populated district (Tottori prefectural constituency). "Supreme Court Calls for Reform of Vote Disparity in House of Councillors Election System." Foreign Press Center/Japan, January 29, 2004. http://www.fpcj.Jp/e/shiryo/jb/0404.html. The malapportionment in the Upper House remains in spite of a reform to the Public Office Election Law in October 2000, whereby the total number of seats in the house was scheduled for reduction by 10, from 252 to 242. over the subsequent two elections (2001 and 2004), with a five-seat cut in each election.
108. George Mulgan, Japan's Interventionist State, pp. 2-4.
109. Nakamura, Nōrin zoku, p. 94.
110. The Financial Times, June 22, 2004.
111. This is notwithstanding the change made to the Upper House system in 2001.
112. These arc characteristic of its campaigns for the agricultural representative standing in the Upper House PR constituency.
113. "Hinode Eisuke to no seisuku kȳtei." Nōsci undō jānaru. No. 50 (August 2003). p. 13.
114. Nōsci undō jānaru, various issues.
115. The prefectures were (farm household population percentages are shown in parentheses): Aomori (20.6), Tochigi (18.2), Gunrna (14.1), Toyama (19.5), Gifu (18.5), Wakayama (14.8), Okayama (18.6), Kagawa (20.5), Ehime (15.4), and Kochi (15.7). Figures are for 2003. Nōrinsuisanshō, Tōkei Jōhōbu, Dai-78 Nōrinsuisanshō tōkeihyō, 2001-2 (Tokyo: Nōrin Tōkei Kyōkai, 2004), pp. 4, 5.
116. The prefectures were (farm household population percentages are shown in parentheses): Akita (30.2), Yamagata (26.4), Ibaragi (19.6), Yamanashi (19.4), Fukui (22.1), Tottori (27.0), Shimane (27.0), Yamaguchi (13.1), Tokushima (20.9), Saga (21.7), Miyazaki (17.8), and Kagoshima (16.4). Figures are for 2003. Nōrinsuisanshō, Tōkei Jomacr;hōbu, Dai-78 Nōrinsuisanshō tōkeihyō, pp. 4, 5.
117. http://www.jiac.or.jp/agrinfo/0406_2.html. A MAFF official reportedly commented that the council had made no difference at all. Personal communication, John Ravenhill, October 2004.
118. Mainichi shinbun, December 22, 2004.
119. "Kantei shudō no FTA suishin," p. 1.
120. Nikkei Weekly, December 8, 2002.
121. Norota (along with Sakurai) has been described as a "traditional type of nōrm zoku," but has taken the lead in converting agricultural policy toward a heavier emphasis on consumers. "Nankō shita Jimintō nōrin kanbu jinji," Nōsei undō jānaru, No. 53 (February 2004), p. 1.
122. Similar talks were held again in Geneva in December 2003. and in 2004 Sakurai and Matsuoka traveled to South America and the United States on the same kind of mission.
123. "LDP Claims Survival of Japanese at Stake," http://www.japantoday.com/e/? content=news&cat= l&id=251497 (accessed November 30, 2003).
124. Nikkei Weekly, August 4, 2003.
125. Asahi shinbun, November 15, 2004.
126. Itō, "Japan's Approach to Free Trade Agreements."
127. Asahi shinbun, November 14, 2003.
128. The Japan Times, March 31, 2004.
129. For a historical analysis of this issue, see Wakiyama Takashi, Kanryō ga kaita kanryō kaikaku (Tokyo: Sannō Daigaku Shuppanbu, 1994), pp. 27-29.
130. Yomiuri shinbun, December 22, 2004.
131. Quoted in Japan Agrinfo Newsletter, Vol. 21, No. 4 (December 2003), http:// www.jiac.or.jp/agrinfo/0312_2.html#13.
132. Nikkei Weekly, September 29 and October 6, 2003.
133. Asahi shinbun, November 14, 2003.
134. Nikkei Weekly, November 24, 2003. He was also quoted as saying that "Japan must bolster efforts to sign free trade agreements with neighboring East Asian nations for the sake of its own economic development."
135. Nihon keizai shinbun, November 19, 2003.
136. http://www.jiac.or.jp/agrinfo/0406_2.html.
137. The tripartite council was specifically established in 1998 to institutionalize a process of consensus-formation within the agricultural "iron triangle" on farm trade issues.
138. For example, the differential tariff system was maintained for pork with a 50 per cent reduction in tariffs and a doubling of the import quota to 80.000 metric tons over five years. The import quota for orange juice was expanded from 4,000 to 6,500 metric tons over five years, with a halving of in-quota tariffs. For beef, 10 metric tons would be tariff-free in the initial two years; after three years, a lower tariff import quota would be established for 3,000 metric tons, rising to 6,000 metric tons after five years. For chicken, a tariff-free quota of 10 metric tons would be established for an initial year; after two years, a lower tariff import quota would be established for 2,500 metric tons rising to 8,500 after five years. And for fresh oranges, there would be an initial tariff-free quota of 10 metric tons for the first two years, with a low-tariff quota established for 2.000 metric tons from the third year rising to 4,000 after five years. "Mekishiko to no FTA. tsui ni ketchaku." Nāsei undō jānaru, No. 54 (April 2004). p. 3.
139. Nikkei Weekly. November 15, 2004.
140. Nikkei Weekly, February 21, 2005.
141. Nihon keizai shinbun, April 14, 2004.
142. "Me in mieru kaikaku no jissen, shōhisha ni apl̄ru kawaru JA o," Nōsei undō jānaru, No. 50 (August 2003), p. 22.
143. Nōrinsuisanshō, Tōkei Jōhōbu, Dai-77 Nōrinsuisanshō tōkeihyō, pp. 107-8.
144. Japan Agrinfo Newsletter, Vol. 21, No. 4 (December 2003), http://www.jiac.or.jp/ agrinfo/0312.html.
145. MAFF imposed a temporary tariff hike on imported fresh and chilled beef on August 1, 2003 (effective until the end of March 2004), raising the rate on imported beef to 50 per cent from 38.5 per cent.
146. http://www.chikyumura.org/campaigns/election/2003shugiin/result.php.
147. The Democratic Party of Japan website, "Manifesto," http://www.dpj.or.jp/english/ manifesto_eng/index.html.
148. This was due to the so-called "Recruit scandal," the introduction of the consumption tax, and the 1988 agreement to liberalize beef and citrus.